Florida fires head coach Billy Napier during fourth season

Florida has fired head coach Billy Napier, according to On3’s Pete Nakos, Chris Low and Brett McMurphy. He was in the midst of his fourth season with the program.

The Gators are on the hook for 85% of the total remaining compensation of his contract, upwards of $20.4 million. Napier signed a seven-year deal with over $50 million guaranteed in November 2021.

The candidates that Florida will look to replace Napier with are coming into view. On3’s Andy Staples released his Head Coach Hot Board for the Gators, headlined by Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

Napier arrived in Gainesville in 2022 after an impressive four-year run at Louisiana. He had a 40-12 record with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including three straight 10-win seasons and back-to-back Sun Belt titles. The program also won three straight Sun Belt West titles and shared first place in the division in 2018.

It was an up-and-down run for Napier at Florida, though. The Gators went 6-7 in his first season in 2022 and 5-7 in 2023. That meant the pressure was ramping up in 2024, especially after UF started the year with a loss to Miami at The Swamp. But the Gators eventually went 8-5 against a challenging schedule, including ranked victories over LSU and Ole Miss down the final stretch.

As a result, Napier returned for 2025. But things again hit a snag in the early part of the year when USF took down Florida in Gainesville on a buzzer-beating field goal in Week 2. That started a three-game losing streak before a huge Top-10 win over Texas at The Swamp. But the Gators came back down to earth the following week in a 34-17 loss at Texas A&M.

The pressure ramped up once again following that game as Florida once again looked ahead to a challenging schedule. When asked about the hot seat chatter, Napier said it comes with the profession and his focus was on the task at hand, which was a Week 8 game against Mississippi State. Florida went on to win that game, 23-21.

“I do think that that’s a reality in our profession,” Napier said Oct. 15 on the SEC coaches’ teleconference. “I think that as a competitor, as a leader, I think that it comes with the territory. Right? So, I think you have to have the ability to focus on the things that are important today.

“I think that’s the whole key here. You’ve got to stack good days, and you’ve got to do a great job setting a good example for your players and staff. So, for me, ultimately we’ve got to get consumed with what’s important now.”

During Billy Napier’s time at Florida, the Gators landed back-to-back Top-10 recruiting classes in 2024 in 2025. That came after the 2023 class came in at No. 13 despite multiple high-profile flips. Quarterback DJ Lagway proved to be the biggest signing under Napier’s watch, coming in as the No. 3 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.